you filled a hole we didn't realise was empty
by laptopheroine
Summary: Sandstorm has been defeated. For once Jane is living a normal life, with a brother working for the good guys, a husband she couldn't be happier with, and a job she adores. The only mysteries in her life are the ones she solves at the FBI. But a chance discovery of a teenage girl in a warehouse changes all that.
1. Chapter 1

_A:N. Hi! This story is very AU. Set sometime after season 2, Roman is good and he works as a combat trainer/weapons expert for the NYO. His relationship with Jane and the rest of the team is good. Jane and Kurt are married and still live in NYC. The entire team still works at SIOC. Taylor Quartermain is my OC, and I very rarely put my own characters into fanfic like this, but I like this one. I hope you do too! Reviews appreciated!_

_xo Laptopheroine_

Chapter 1

"It's. . . a kid," Jane says breathlessly. She puts her gun down and slowly walks towards the girl curled up in the fetal position on the floor. The girl has no weapons, no suicide bomb, nothing except the clothes she wears. They're plain blue pyjamas, cheap flannelette like the ones you buy from Walmart or Target. She has long honey-blonde hair cascading in gentle waves.

"What do you mean, a kid?" Kurt demands as he runs up the stairs to meet Jane.

"I mean, a literal kid. A teenager. Can't be older than fourteen or so."

The ground rumbles as Kurt, Reade and Tasha join Jane in the empty concrete room.

"Is she dead?" Reade asks.

Jane puts two fingers on the girl's neck, sighing in relief when she finds a pulse. "No, just unconscious."

"We have to get her out of here," Tasha says. Kurt nudges Jane out of the way so he can pick the girl up.

The girl remains unconscious for hours. They put her on a cot in the medical wing and take her blood. Patterson begins searching databases for her.

Jane sits next to her and waits for her to wake up. She notes the pinpricks in the girl's hands, the telltale bruising of a shunt. She has a small scar on her left temple in the shape of a jagged circle.

All of a sudden the girl sits bolt upright, hyperventilating. She looks at Jane with a mix of fear and confusion. "What's-?" she says.

"It's okay, you're in the New York office of the FBI. My name is Jane. Can you tell me your name?"

The girl's hazel eyes widen further. "I- I don't know."

Jane's heart sinks. Oh, no.

"I don't know," the girl says again.

"Jane!" Kurt runs into the med wing. "We got the blood tests back. She's been ZIPPED."

Jane turns to look at him and Kurt realises that the girl's awake. "I know."

"I don't know!" the girl says again. It's obvious that this is getting to her. She rubs at the blood pressure band on her arm as Tasha continues to ask her questions.

Patterson approaches Jane and Kurt where they stand behind the one way glass. "I combed every database we have. FBI, NSA, CIA, military, WITSEC. There is nothing on this girl. It's like Jane all over again."

"Well, she's not Sandstorm," Jane says. "They have no motive to ZIP a teenager and put her in a warehouse we were investigating, and besides, she was only ZIPPED about a day ago. Do you have any information on her from the tests?"

"I do, but it isn't much." Pulling up something on her tablet, Patterson starts talking. "She's fifteen years old, Caucasian, definitely not born anywhere but the US. Whoever did this ZIPPED her thoroughly, gave her some knockout drugs and something else that I can't identify."  
"We get anything on how she got to the warehouse?" Kurt asks.

"Nothing. There are no cameras in the area."

'Any clues from her clothes?"

"Absolutely nothing. The clothes are generic storebought ones that sell in about a hundred different chain stores across the country." Patterson pauses. "There's something else we need to talk about."

"What?" Kurt and Jane say simultaneously.

"What are we gonna name her? Jane Doe's already taken and so far we can't find her own name."

"What about Taylor?" Jane asks, still looking through the glass at the girl.

"Taylor?" Kurt says. "Are you sure?"

"I don't know, it just fits, don't you think?"

"She even looks like her, a bit," Kurt says quietly. "Different coloured eyes, but same. . . strength in them. She's afraid, but she's still fighting."

The pair watch as the girl stands up and rips the band off her arm, telling Tasha that she wants to know what the hell is going on.

"Taylor it is," he says. "Patterson, what's the street of the warehouse we found her in?"

"Quartermain Avenue."

"Taylor Quartermain. I like it," says Jane.

"Will someone please just tell me what the hell is going on!" the girl - Taylor - shouts as Jane enters the interrogation room. Taylor looks from Jane to Tasha. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Tasha says. "I'm gonna let you two talk."

Jane takes a seat while Tasha leaves. "Hi. You met me a couple hours ago, do you remember?"

"It's about the only thing I remember," she grumbles.

"We haven't managed to find you in any of our databases, but we're going to keep looking. For now, we may have come up with a name for you."

"I'm listening." The girl tugs at a strand of loose hair and her grey eyes dart up to Jane's.

"Taylor Quartermain, after an old friend and the street we found you on."

"Okay, so you've given me a name, what now? You've done a million tests, if you could find something you would've."

"Hey." Jane puts her hand over Taylor's. "You're going to be okay. I know you're scared right now, but-"

"How would you know anything about what I'm feeling?"

_If only she knew. _"Because I've been in the exact spot you're in right now. A few years ago my memory was erased too. I was. . . terrified, and confused, and angry all at once. I didn't know who I was and I had no idea who I was going to be, either. I was just kinda stuck in this. . . limbo."

Taylor nods. "Yeah, that's exactly how it feels."

"Taylor, my team and I are going to do everything in our power to find out who you are and what happened to you, okay? But it's going to take some time, and it's going to take some cooperation on your part. Can you do that?"

"Okay."

"Great. Now we've gotten that out of the way, do you wanna meet the team?"

Taylor nods and lets Jane help her to her feet, following her out to SIOC.

Once Taylor's met everyone, Patterson takes her to get some food and some clothes while everyone else discusses Taylor's living situation.

"We can't put her in a foster home. We don't know her situation or who could be after her," Kurt says.

"Well, we can't just stick her in a safe house with a detail. She's a fifteen-year old kid, Weller, not some witness," Reade says.

"Yeah, he's right," Tasha adds.

Kurt thinks for a moment and looks at Jane. The two share a silent conversation before Jane pipes up. "We'll take care of her."

"Are you insane?" Tasha says. "You are aware you're volunteering to take care of a living breathing child, right? Indefinitely?"

"She won't be safer than with two FBI agents," Kurt counters. "And she needs someone she can trust. Jane was the first person she saw when she woke up and the only person who understands what she's going through."

"Well, I'm cool with it," Reade says. "I mean, whatever's best for Taylor, right?"

"It's probably the best option we've got," Tasha admits. "Congratulations, you guys. You've got a kid."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When Taylor returns to SIOC, wearing some slightly long yoga pants, an FBI T-shirt and some borrowed canvas shoes, the team is standing in Kurt's office. Patterson's rushed back to the lab for some 'very important thing' and Taylor doesn't know whether to go in or wait outside. Honestly, she thinks she's about to pass out. The drugs that knocked her out haven't quite worn off yet, and she's been poked and prodded and interrogated for the last four hours. She wants to go home but she's not quite sure where that is.

Jane catches her eye through the window and smiles, beckoning for her to go in, so she does.

"Hey," she says as Taylor goes over to her. "Better?"

Taylor nods and then yawns.

Jane checks her watch. "It's two am, you must be exhausted. Come on, we'll let Kurt finish the paperwork and I'll take you home."

"Where exactly is that?"

"Well, Kurt and I were thinking you could stay with us, if that's okay with you? It's safe, close to the FBI, and we've got plenty of room."

"Okay."

Jane looks around at the rest of the team, all of whom look a little tired themselves, and looks back to Kurt. "OK if we go home without you?"

"Go ahead," Kurt says. "I'll be another hour or so."

"Night, everyone," Jane says.

"Night, guys," Reade says.

"See you tomorrow," Tasha says.

Taylor's asleep before she can get under the covers. Jane turns the bedroom light off, takes Patterson's shoes off her feet and quietly closes the door. Once she's finished, she calls Roman.

"Hey," he says. She hears the smile in his voice. She's not surprised that he's awake at two-thirty in the morning. He, like Jane, suffers from nightmares and is usually awake for an hour or so between one and four a.m."How was the drug bust?"

"Uh, the drug bust was great, what I called to talk to you about was what we found in the warehouse besides the drugs."

"Why, what'd you find?"

"A teenage girl. She's been ZIPPED."

"What? Why would anyone ZIP a kid?"

"We don't know. We couldn't find any record of her anywhere."

"Wow. Okay. Where is she now?"

"At home with me and Kurt."

"_What?_"

"We kinda offered to take her in until the case is solved."

"I. . . really don't know how to respond to that."

"Neither do I. This is either the smartest or the dumbest decision I've ever made."

"What did you name her? How old is she? When can I meet her?"

"Taylor, fifteen, and I don't know. She's got a lot of adjusting to do. Maybe next week? We were going to have dinner anyway."

"Sounds good. Talk to you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Love you, Roman."

"Love you too. Bye."

Light, pressing against her closed eyelids, is the first thing that registers in Taylor's brain. She opens her eyes and finds herself in an unfamiliar room with charcoal carpet, light grey walls and a wardrobe opposite her. Light filters through an opening between two dark curtains that cover a window to her right. She hears noise coming from the kitchen. She gets up slowly, opens the door and walks down the hall.

Kurt's cooking something on the stove while Jane sits at the counter with a mug in her hands. She's laughing at something he said, her eyes bright, hair disheveled. There's something so wonderfully domestic about the scene that gives Taylor a pang in her chest, but she doesn't quite know why.

Kurt turns and notices her standing there. "Morning, Taylor," he says with a half smile. "Pancakes?"

She takes a seat next to Jane as Kurt hands her a plate with three pancakes, butter and maple syrup.

"Sleep well?" Jane asks.

"Yeah. Thank you, by the way. For letting me stay here. I don't remember if I said it last night."

"You're very welcome. Hey, so I was thinking you and I could get you some clothes this morning, and then we'll go to the FBI in the afternoon. Patterson wants to do some more tests on you."

"More? I think she took a sample of everything I have."

"Not those kinds of tests," Jane laughs. "Mental ones. She wants to see what kind of education you've had."

"Won't I have forgotten it?"

"Not the material. You might forget learning it, but the concepts will still be there."

"This one speaks nine languages and didn't learn any of them after she came to us," Kurt adds, jerking a thumb at Jane.

"Wow," Taylor says.

Jane walks purposefully through the store, grabbing random items until she's got a sizeable pile in her arms. She hands them to Taylor and ushers her into a changing room. "We won't know what you like until you try it, so you're gonna try everything," she says.

Taylor glances suspiciously at the clothes. There are some bright colours she knows she hates by instinct, but some things don't look so bad. She pulls a pair of black jeans out of the pile along with a black-and-white striped top and a ripped denim jacket. She picks up a pair of laced ankle boots from the floor.

She walks out of the changing rooms and stares at herself in the full-length mirror. Her hair is out and a little bit wild and the boots make her a good two inches taller. She smiles a little. She feels like herself, and considering she doesn't know who she is, it's a good feeling.

"Hey," Jane walks up to her from behind. "That's cool."

"I like it," Taylor says.

"You like it?"  
The expression on Jane's face, so full of hope for her, makes Taylor want to cry, so she swallows and nods instead.

Apparently, two pairs of jeans and three tops don't make a wardrobe, so Jane drags Taylor around a million other shops until they're both laden down with bags. After lunch it's back to the FBI for the tests she so despises.

Jane pretends to be sorting out Taylor's paperwork while she watches through the window. Taylor sits at the table doing her fourth test in as many hours. She blows hair from her face and sighs.

"You know you look kinda creepy staring at her like that," Kurt says as he comes up behind her.

"Don't you feel it? There's something about her. I don't know what it is." Jane shakes her head.

"Maybe it's that she's in the same position you were three years ago."

"Maybe."

Taylor stands up and takes her paper with her out of the interrogation room. Jane pretends she's not leaving just because Taylor is.

While Taylor is getting her photo taken for her ID, Patterson briefs everyone on the tests. "She's definitely had a good education. Her language skills are great, math and science pretty good. She's got an IQ of 160 and her people-reading skills are off the charts. It looks like she must've skipped a year or two of school because her intelligence level is not that of an average fifteen-year-old."

"So she doesn't need to go to school. What are we gonna do with her?" Reade asks.

"Well, first I want her to take a test to get her GED and then I thought we could hire her as a consultant," Patterson says, twisting her hands.

"_What?_" Jane says.

"She's a kid!" Reade cries.

"Are you crazy?" Tasha says.

"Well, it'll keep her close to us. And a teenage prodigy working for us is honestly less suspicious than a random kid wandering around the NYO."

"You've got a point there," Kurt admits. "All right, I'll expedite the paperwork."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hi everyone! So so sorry for the late update! I had to write some stories about my own characters for uni. This is a really short chapter, but I like to think it's a good one. Please please please review and I'll update you sooner than I did last time, I promise :) xoxo laptopheroine

Dinner with Roman is nothing short of a disaster.

Jane is desperate for it all to go well, following a tough few days settling Taylor in to the NYO. The strange looks have yet to abate, even though at the moment Taylor isn't even allowed on active cases. She's been spending her time studying past cases, doing exercises from Quantico and self-defence training with Tasha. All Jane wants is a little normal, like her first dinner with the team.

Normal lasts all of seventy-three seconds.

Roman arrives right on time. He hugs Jane and claps Kurt on the shoulder before standing in front of a shy Taylor. "Hey, Taylor." He smiles a little awkwardly. "I'm Roman."

"So you're Jane's brother?" she asks.

"Yep."

"What was Jane like as a kid?"

Suddenly Taylor has flashes. She's little, maybe three or four, chasing another little girl across a lawn. The girl turns around to look at her and laughs.

"I have to go." She leaps out of her seat and bolts out the door. She doesn't even know where she's running to; just that she has to get _out._ She forgoes the elevator in favour of the stairs, and finds herself sitting in the stairwell, back pressed against the cold wall.

Jane finds her there a few minutes later. She sits next to her in silence for a minute.

"What did you remember?" she asks.  
"How did you know I remembered something?"

"I know the look. The shock of uncovering your first memory, combined with fear, and- and anger."

"Anger? How do you know I feel angry right now?"

"Because you have every right to. Anger at yourself, for losing those memories. At the universe, because it's crap. At us. Because we have what you don't."

Taylor doesn't speak for a while. When she does, her voice is tiny, bouncing off the concrete walls of the stairwell. "I think I had a sister. Older. I remember playing with her."

"Did you get any defining characteristics? Do you think you could sit down with a sketch artist?"

"No, they were just flashes. I was really little so the memories would've been hazy before the ZIP."

"I'm sorry."

"The first thing I remember and it's a whole bunch of nothing."

"It's not nothing. We know you have a sister. That's something."  
"Oh, what are you gonna do? Look up 'fifteen year old blonde girls with sisters' in the FBI database?"

"Hey. You have to be patient with yourself. It's only been a few days."

"I'm sorry I ruined your dinner."

"Don't be. I ruined a dinner with Kurt's sister almost the same way. Besides, Roman gets it."

"He was ZIPPED too?"

"Sort of runs in the family." Jane stands and offers Taylor her hand. "You ready to come back or do you need another minute?"

"No, I'm okay. Thanks for the talk."

Taylor follows Jane back inside. The group continue their dinner like nothing's happened, much to Taylor's relief and gratitude. Once dinner's done, Kurt makes up some pretense about needing to call the office and goes out onto the patio, shutting the door behind him.

"Hey," Roman says. "I know you're trying to fake normal even though you're not quite sure what that is yet. But you don't have to. Not around us."

Jane nods. She reaches across the table, as if to take Taylor's hand, without actually taking it. "Him and me? We are the only other people in the world who know what it's like to start from scratch the way ZIP makes you. We can help you get through it too, if you'll let us. You won't go through it alone like I did."


End file.
